Saturday 16 April 2016 17:32, UK
Pablo Larrazabal will take a two-shot lead into the weekend of the Open de Espana as only two players reached the halfway stage under par for the tournament.
Blustery conditions sent scores soaring on the second day at Valderrama, with Mike Lorenzo-Vera and Peter Hanson the only players able to break par for the round while Larrazabal's level-par 71 was enough to earn the outright lead from Andrew Johnston on Friday.
Overnight leader Alexander Levy is tied for third despite handing in a 76, while defending champion James Morrison and Spain's Alejandro Canizares are also three off the pace after firing 75s.
Larrazabal was putting together a sensational round after starting on the back nine, cruising to the turn in 33 with birdies at 11, 12 and 17 before he holed a 25-foot putt for another at the first to move to seven under.
But the 32-year-old over-hit his approach to the second and could not get up and down, and he endured torment at the next when he took two attempts to extract his ball from a greenside bunker, and he compounded the error by three-putting from 20 feet to run up a triple-bogey six.
Larrazabal, chasing his fifth European Tour title, did well to regain his composure as he parred his remaining six holes to set the early second-round target in the clubhouse, which was never seriously under threat during the afternoon.
"To shoot level in these conditions is a great feeling and to have a chance on the last to go into the red figures is something really special," Larrazabal told the European Tour afterwards. "I said to my playing partners that I only missed one shot today really bad, and I made triple-bogey.
"I made so many great saves - like the 17th, the putt I made from the back of there was great. I didn't play my best golf, but on another golf course I would have gone six, seven under par because of the way I fought, so I'm very pleased.
"If the wind blows like this, a level par or more total will win this. If I shoot level par over the weekend, I will be in the fight."
Johnston, who opened with a flawless 67, started his second round with a birdie at the 10th before dropping his first shots of the tournament at 14 and 15, although an excellent putt at the second got him back to level for the day.
But he also came to grief at the par-three third as he scrapped his way to a five, and another shot went at the next before he offset a birdie at the eighth with bogey at the ninth to return a 74.
Morrison, who came into the event after a six-week break, also began on the back nine and had a run of three bogeys in five holes from the 13th, but he got back on track with morale-boosting birdies at five and six.
But the holder gave both shots back at the seventh and also bogeyed the eighth before telling Sky Sports: "I think that's level par out there, isn't it? It was a hard round from the start. The wind was up and it's a hard course in shorts and no wind, let alone with some breeze this morning and it was quite chilly too.
"I did not play great but at the same time I scrambled pretty well. You have got to put it into perspective. I've shot four over par and and am still nearly in the top 10. Come the end of the day, I should be in a good position to go forward.
"I like these conditions in a very weird way. You know the scoring is not going to get away from you. If you play well, you can win and if you don't, you get punished. That's the way it should be. It's a true test of golf and it's great to play."
Levy bogeyed four of the first five holes and leaked another shot at the eighth, but the Frenchman battled hard to halt the slide and played the last 11 holes in level par to remain in the share of third place.
Two-time major champion Martin Kaymer was one under for the event until he dropped three shots in four holes from the 14th in his 75, while tournament host Sergio Garcia is just six behind Larrazabal after firing a creditable 71 despite a double-bogey at 16 and a dropped shot at the last.
The halfway cut fell at a remarkable nine over par, with former Ryder Cup star Nicolas Colsaerts and 2013 BMW PGA champion Matteo Manassero among those to have the weekend off.
